Find out how popular the last name Quam is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Quam.
Derived from the Old English word "cwom," meaning a valley or low-lying area.
Quam, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Quam surname is from the 2010 census data.
Quam is the 12132nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Quam surname appeared 2,568 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Quam.
We can also compare 2010 data for Quam to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
Rank | 12132 | 11803 | 2.75% |
Count | 2,568 | 2,431 | 5.48% |
Proportion per 100k | 0.87 | 0.90 | -3.39% |
The surname Quam is believed to have originated in the region of Normandy, France, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "quam," meaning "marsh" or "swamp," suggesting that the initial bearers of this name may have lived near or owned land in a marshy area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Quam surname can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and their properties compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Quamme," which is likely an early spelling variation.
During the Middle Ages, the Quam family established themselves as landowners and influential figures in various parts of Normandy. Notable individuals from this period include Robert de Quam, a knight who fought in the Third Crusade (1189-1192), and Jehan Quam, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of Rouen (born circa 1320).
As the Quam surname spread across Europe, it underwent various spelling changes, such as Quame, Quayme, and Quaim. In England, the name was often anglicized to Qualm or Qualme, as seen in the records of Sir Thomas Qualm, a member of the King's Council during the reign of Henry VI (1422-1461).
During the Renaissance period, the Quam family produced several notable scholars and intellectuals. One such figure was Pierre Quam (1510-1585), a renowned philosopher and mathematician who taught at the University of Paris and authored several influential works on geometry and astronomy.
In the 17th century, the Quam name gained prominence in the Netherlands, where it was often spelled as Quaem or Quaeme. A notable bearer of this surname was Adriaen Quaem (1620-1688), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his detailed still-life compositions and landscapes.
Other notable individuals with the Quam surname throughout history include:
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Quam.
The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Quam was:
Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
---|---|---|
Non-Hispanic White Only | 86.57% | 2,223 |
Non-Hispanic Black Only | 0.19% | 5 |
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | 0.82% | 21 |
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 9.58% | 246 |
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | 1.09% | 28 |
Hispanic Origin | 1.75% | 45 |
Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.
Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Quam has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.
2010 | 2000 | Change (%) | |
---|---|---|---|
White | 86.57% | 87.41% | -0.97% |
Black | 0.19% | 0.21% | -10.00% |
Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.82% | 1.28% | -43.81% |
American Indian and Alaskan Native | 9.58% | 8.93% | 7.02% |
Two or More Races | 1.09% | 1.03% | 5.66% |
Hispanic | 1.75% | 1.15% | 41.38% |
The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.
The history and meaning of the name Quam was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Quam, please contact us.
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<a href="http://namecensus.com/last-names/quam-surname-popularity/">Quam last name popularity, history, and meaning</a>
"Quam last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 11, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/quam-surname-popularity/.
"Quam last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/quam-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 October, 2024
Quam last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/quam-surname-popularity/.
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